


The Fastest Way to a Boy's Heart is Through His Ribcage

by xXdark_passengerXx



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: M/M, Vampires, he lives a double life, hes also a vampire hunter, i like evil shizuo, izaya wants revenge, shizuo wants his blood, shizuos a vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26329072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXdark_passengerXx/pseuds/xXdark_passengerXx
Summary: ❝you always had a way of creeping in my life;youre always so inclined to tear apart my mind❞-Izaya's family was killed long ago by the most well-known, dangerous vampire. Wanting revenge, he seeks out the legendary vampire hunter, Shizuo. Unfortunately, he's unaware of the truth about Shizuo and the blond's desire to finish what he'd started when he had first attacked the Orihara family. Izaya wants revenge, Shizuo wants his blood.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya
Comments: 14
Kudos: 58





	The Fastest Way to a Boy's Heart is Through His Ribcage

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from the song "the fastest way to a girls heart is through her ribcage" by ice nine kills. great song :)

  
Shizuo shut the door behind him as he walked towards Izaya, who sat by his desk, typing away furiously.

"Any luck?" he asked, making his voice sound as genuine as he could, which wasn't hard since he had been asking Izaya the same question for four years now.

Izaya didn't say anything for a moment, and Shizuo knew it was because of how frustrated the raven was. "No, there's nothing on him."

"That's okay," Shizuo reassured, his hands on Izaya's shoulders as he prompted him to stand up. Izaya was reluctant at first, but he'd become susceptible to Shizuo's touch over the years. "You can try again tomorrow. It's late."

He followed Izaya to their shared room and lied behind the latter with his arm around his waist. The two didn't share any more words, and that was fine with Shizuo. He was just waiting— waiting for the right moment. He didn't need words for that.

—

"You made breakfast." Shizuo walked into the kitchen, smiling widely as he eyed the plate of pancakes.

"I did," Izaya answered, turning around after he turned the stove off. He faced Shizuo with a smirk. "I just thought you'd appreciate it."

Shizuo hummed, sitting down at the table as he grabbed a fork that had been laying around. They began their morning routine. Shizuo kept his gaze on Izaya, who was too busy drinking his coffee and reading some article on his phone. Shizuo couldn't help but let his eyes fall onto the pale throat, unblemished and unmarked. It was like Izaya was waiting for Shizuo to sink his teeth into it.

It was always hard for Shizuo to hold himself back. There was something about Orihara blood that was better than others'. He could still taste the blood of Izaya's parents on the tip of his tongue, yet, unfortunately, he never got a chance to try Izaya's. Still, he knew it would be better than anything. He smelt it that day all those years ago, and he smelt it right now. Whenever Izaya nicked himself with his knife or somehow got a cut, Shizuo would freeze at the sight of the red oozing out. It always taunted Shizuo, as if daring him to come at him, but Shizuo never gave in to the urges. He may not have gotten the blood, but his suspicions were confirmed; the value of Izaya's blood was richer than anything he'd smelt before, and he knew the taste would be worth this long wait.

He quickly looked away just as Izaya's eyes shot up at him. "I think I got another lead," he commented, showing Shizuo his phone. "It's just a twenty minute drive from here. Somebody claimed to have seen a vampire drain three men dry within seconds. It can only be the Monster of the Night."

Monster of the Night was the nickname people had given to the savage vampire, the most dangerous one to have ever roamed the night. That vampire had killed Izaya's parents, hence why the raven was so set on finding him. The name was ironic to Shizuo, since the vampire hunter part of him was also given the name Monster of Ikeburuko. It seemed like it didn't matter what others thought he was— whether they thought he was human or a vampire— he would always be a monster.

"All right, we can check it out today." Shizuo's eyes shifted to Izaya's, which lit up as they always did whenever he got a lead. Even though it had been years, Izaya didn't change the slightest bit.

"Great!" Izaya stood up, leaning down to give Shizuo a peck on his lips before walking to the sink to put away his coffee mug. "I feel good about this one. I feel like this will be what leads us to him."

Shizuo stayed quiet as Izaya practically ran out of the room to get ready. Shizuo shook his head, continuing to eat his breakfast. Izaya really hadn't changed.

—

Four years ago, Shizuo got a text from an unknown contact. He didn't bother retracing the IP address or doing any research. Shizuo blindly went to meet the guy who texted him, knowing no one would be able to harm a vampire as strong as him.

A man walked in, one that looked all too familiar yet so unfamiliar. Shizuo watched as the raven-haired man sat down on the seat across from Shizuo.

"Shizuo Heiwajima, yes?" he asked, and before Shizuo could even respond, the man continued. "Are the rumours true then? I have to say, your reputation precedes you. Tell me, are you really the strongest man in Ikeburuko? Have you really killed more vampires than any other person? Word on the street is you don't even rest. You're what they call legendary. You're probably the most well-known vampire hunter ever. People dub you as the best."

If there was one thing Shizuo learnt about the man thus far, it was that he liked the sound of his own voice.

Shizuo just gave a growl in response, growing angry at the man's words and at the feeling Shizuo was getting from him. There was a smell that hit his nose, and for a second, he thought it stunk, but then it moulded into something incredible.

"I have a job for you, Heiwajima," the man continued. "I've been on a hunt for the past few years for a certain vampire. He likes to roam the streets at night and in the sun, killing about fifteen people every day. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about, yes?"

Of course Shizuo knew. It was the Monster of the Night, the most feared vampire of all time. He was talking about Shizuo himself. No one spoke about him, let alone hunted for him, yet here this man was, wanting to kill him. Shizuo clenched his fist, but didn't reject his offer just yet.

"Yeah, so what?"

The man smiled, and slightly tilted his head. "I want him dead. He's killed so many of my precious humans, I can't stand it anymore. So, will you help me?"

It then hit Shizuo. Almost two decades ago, he was in a house, feeding on two people with some of the best blood he'd ever tasted. He wanted more, yet there didn't seem to be any blood left in their bodies.

He could remember the sound of a scream as he turned around, his eyes landing on a boy. From there, Shizuo could smell his scent and he wanted nothing more than to feed on him. He never got a chance to, however, since he could hear the sound of people outside, marching towards the house. He grimaced as he left, silently promising to himself he'd come back. Yet, when he did return, the boy was nowhere to be found. Through research, he learnt his name but could never find his whereabouts.

Shizuo kept a smirk down as he eyed the man. There was no denying it; the smell was the same. "Fine."

The man's eyes brightened up considerably, practically glowing. "Wonderful! I'm Izaya Orihara, by the way. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

—

Shizuo stared at Izaya as the latter drove them to wherever. Shizuo didn't know where they were going, but he knew it'd be a dead end. After all, the person Izaya was looking for was the same one he'd been sleeping with.

"I'm flattered by the attention, really." Izaya's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, but he kept his eyes on the enticing, pale throat, knowing he wouldn't get caught, not with Izaya so focused on the road. "But why not just take a picture, it'll last longer."

"It's not the same," Shizuo huffed out, forcing every fibre in his being to calm down. "And you know it."

Izaya laughed, his voice so full of affection. Shizuo knew Izaya's love for him would only  
make his blood taste even better. The blood of someone who loved you was always more delectable. The blood of a betrayed heart was amazing. The blood of a betrayed heart who still loved you was something that kept Shizuo satisfied for decades. It was an irreplaceable taste, which was why he waited to drink Izaya's blood and continued to help him with his goose chase. Izaya loved him so easily and foolishly. Shizuo was going to make his blood the best he'd ever drunk. It would be worth it.

"You need to control yourself," Izaya teased, and Shizuo wondered what he'd say if he found out just how much Shizuo had been keeping himself in check. "We're almost there."

Sure enough, they arrived after a minute.

Izaya got out of the car, immediately walking towards a tavern. Shizuo followed behind, eyeing the place he had been to just the night before. It was weird to see it in the daylight. Speaking of that, he looked up at the sun, thinking it was ridiculous of people to assume vampires burnt in its heat. Vampires also didn't sparkle. That, garlic, and silver were all just folklore. There were really only two ways to kill a vampire: either by depriving it of blood until it starved or by stabbing them with a knife, a series of Latin words engraved into the metal. There was no point in driving a stake to their heart, since they didn't have a pulse. Shizuo wondered how Izaya never realized that his heart didn't beat. He could recall this one time they had been laying in bed together, Izaya's finger tracing over Shizuo's bare chest. Izaya had commented on how faint his pulse was, but Shizuo made up some lie. It didn't seem like Izaya had been questioning it, more like he was just curious. Izaya was dumb like that; he hadn't ever bothered to see if Shizuo was a vampire, just blindly trusted him instead.

As Shizuo walked into the tavern, he found Izaya already speaking with the owner of the place. Shizuo was going to just hang around the back and listen in to their conversation, but then he spotted a drunk hand fall to Izaya's waist. Shizuo narrowed his eyes at it as Izaya grimaced at the drunken man. He tried to pry his arm off, but the man's hand only travelled lower.

Shizuo sighed as he walked towards the pair angrily. It wasn't that he was pissed—he was, just for the wrong reasons. The man could've touched Izaya all he wanted and Shizuo wouldn't have felt the slightest bit of annoyance, but Shizuo could sense something in the air around the man. He was another vampire.

"Hey!" Shizuo yelled, his hand gripping the man's arm harshly as he threw him across the room, crashing into some tables. Shizuo strode towards him, huffing. "What do you think you're doing?"

The vampire seemed to recognize Shizuo and began to tremble. "You— You're—"

Before he could say anything to expose Shizuo's true identity, the blond reached towards his belt, pulling out a knife before he stabbed the man's stomach, watching him wheeze and hiss in pain. As he was in the midst of dying, Shizuo leaned down, his mouth right over the man's ear.

"You can't just take what isn't yours," he whispered harshly, twisting the knife in the man's guts. "Don't you think it's rude? I've been shaping him into my meal for years. Did you think it would be okay to have stolen my hard work, hah?"

"I— I didn't—"

Shizuo pulled the knife out and the man stopped squirming, officially dead. Shizuo looked up to the crowd who stared at the man on the ground.

"He was a vampire," he stated, standing up. "Cremate him, that'll be the best way to go about it."

Shizuo walked to Izaya, who gave him a small smile of appreciation. While everyone else had a look of fear on their faces, Izaya welcomed him with open arms, just as he always had. For someone who used their mind over their physical strength, Izaya wasn't all that smart.

"So sorry for that interruption," Izaya continued his conversation with the man. "You were saying?"

"Yes, yes, I," the man stumbled over his words as his eyes shifted between Izaya and Shizuo.

Izaya seemed to understand his hesitancy. "Don't worry, he won't kill you. He'll only kill you if he deems you a vampire. It may be hard to recognize one, but he has some good instincts. If you're not a vampire, don't worry about it. He's never been wrong."

Shizuo felt Izaya's hand find his, holding it tightly. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes, giving a squeeze back instead.

"Right, of course!" the man nodded profusely. "The vampire— I hadn't seen him too well last night. It was dark and he was fast. He had a set of glowing brown eyes and an angry snarl— sharp teeth, but that was it. He was gone in less than a minute."

Almost everyone had brown eyes, so this information probably didn't help. Vampires' eyes tended to glow a bit when they fed, so again, not useful. It was hard to recognize a vampire, like Izaya said, humans could only really recognize them when they fed. Other than that, the only tells were the places their eyes lingered, which was usually one's throat or another pulse point. A human had to be extremely observant to recognize a vampire, and Izaya usually was good at that except with Shizuo. Shizuo was his blindspot.

"I've seen him once before too, you know," Izaya began, and Shizuo recognized this story; it was one Izaya told to empathize with information holders. "Only his mouth though. He was wearing a cloak, so the top part of his face was covered, but some brown hair was peeking out. All I really saw were his fangs coated in my parents' blood."

"Oh, I'm—"

"It's fine, but please," Izaya smiled at the man, "If you learn anything new, give me a call."

After Izaya had given the man his number, the two walked back to the car. Izaya leaned his head against the seat as he closed his eyes. Shizuo liked these moments, where Izaya would think and figure out what to do next. Shizuo always had to distract him in some way, make him forget his line of thought. It wasn't hard to get his attention.

Shizuo leaned over from the passenger seat, his lips on Izaya's and his hand on the other's thigh. Izaya's eyes opened and he smiled like he always did, believing Shizuo was just trying to comfort him.

Shizuo deepened the kiss, his hand tightened on Izaya's thigh until the raven let out a surprised gasp, his hand coming over Shizuo's.

"Shizu-chan, we have to scout the area." Izaya's voice may have been shaky, but it was obvious what Shizuo had done wasn't enough. Shizuo had taken too long, Izaya already had the next step ready.

"But I want you," he whispered, his mouth travelling to the other's neck. It would be so easy to let his fangs free and just bite down.

"Later," Izaya let out breathily, his hands on Shizuo's hair as he pushed him away. Shizuo pulled back reluctantly, showing Izaya how upset he was. Izaya only gave a small laugh. "If we're lucky, he might still be around— or might've left something behind."

"It'll still be there in five minutes."

"Listen, Protozoan, it might not be. Now that people know we're here, they could try their best to tidy it up," Izaya explained slowly in a way that showed just how patronizing he was being. He reached for the backseat and pulled up a black bag, one that held certain equipment to take down a vampire. "We have to get going."

Before Shizuo could reply, Izaya was already out of the car. Shizuo groaned silently, following suit to make Izaya really didn't find anything. How troublesome that would be.

They walked through some alley by the tavern, ending up at the back of it where employees typically threw out the trash. Shizuo assumed it was the place of the crime.

"You check out that half," Izaya ordered, gesturing vaguely to the side.

Shizuo complied and immediately began looking for anything that would've given him away. He found a smudge of blood on the floor but couldn't tell whose exactly it was. It could've been his, could've been one of the victims, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He smudged his shoes against it, watching it dissipate until it was barely noticeable. One would have to really look at the ground to see it, and luckily for Shizuo, Izaya trusted him enough not to double check the area.

He walked to Izaya, who was eyeing the place almost desperately. "It's like he's never at the scene."

"It's why he hasn't gotten caught yet." Shizuo walked over to him, placing his hands on Izaya's arms as he rubbed them soothingly, hopefully calming him enough to make him lose his train of thought. "There's clearly nothing here. Just a dead end."

Izaya sighed, walking back to their car with Shizuo's hand in his. "There's just one more place we have to check out. The morgue's holding the bodies."

Izaya's hands were on the wheel and his eyes were on the road. Shizuo couldn't help but let out a smirk, facing the window to hide the look on his face. The bodies never had a clue. Izaya never even knew what he was looking for, just something odd. That was too vague of a mindset to actually find something.

They got to the morgue, and just as he expected, there was no obvious clue— or any clue— leading back to Shizuo. He could tell Izaya was disheartened; after all, he had been dealing with dead ends for two decades, it must've gotten tiring.

Still, Izaya refused to show how upset he was.

"Hey, look! It's Shizu-chan!"

Shizuo turned away from one of the bodies, looking at Izaya instead. The raven had put a finger on one of the corpse's forehead, making it so his eyebrows were furrowed and angry. The other hand was pulling the dead man's lips down into a frown.

Shizuo thought it was a bit morbid, playing with a corpse like that, but didn't comment on his notion. Instead, he just gave an angry scowl.

"Shut it."

Izaya laughed, but it was in a different way than usual. Shizuo walked over to take Izaya's hand in his, guiding the man out of the morgue.

They were walking back to the car when Shizuo smelt them. He heard voices, too, distinctly. His eyes shifted to the left, an alleyway clouded by darkness. Even though he couldn't see anything, Shizuo knew there were two vampires lingering in the dark. Shizuo just hoped Izaya didn't notice them since he wasn't really in the mood to fight.

However, when he looked at the raven, he found him staring down at the alley. Only then did Shizuo realize they had stopped walking.

"Someone's in there," Izaya whispered, turning to look at him for confirmation. He didn't even get a chance to try and pry Izaya away, the latter having run down the narrow space between the two buildings.

"Goddammit," he mumbled angrily, shoving his hands into his pockets as he followed after Izaya.

He stayed near the shadows against the wall, knowing the vampires would recognize him. Every vampire knew of him— knew he killed his own kind for nothing more than covering his own arse. Shizuo didn't care for their lives, he didn't mind taking them if it meant he could have easier access to humans' blood.

"You two—" Izaya yelled, but the vampires were already shooting further down the alley, parting ways as one went left, the other straight.

Izaya sighed as he turned around to face Shizuo. "I'll take the one that went left— Hey!"

Shizuo was already running after the one Izaya called dibs on. He didn't care which one Izaya wanted to chase after; Shizuo always went after the smarter looking one. Those vampires had smug looks on their faces and were harder to intimidate since they were so arrogant. The one that went straight looked a bit out of it, the fear in his eyes obvious from just looking at Izaya. Once he saw Shizuo's glare, he would know better than to expose Shizuo's identity, which was why Shizuo chased after the one that turned. They couldn't talk if they were dead. Shizuo knew Izaya wanted them alive to interrogate them, but Shizuo didn't give a damn for what Izaya wanted.

The man was slower than he thought he'd be; for all the arrogance he flaunted, Shizuo would think he'd have done a better job backing it up.

He had the man by the collar and against the wall within seconds. Shizuo hissed into his face, noticing the lack of fear in the other's eyes.

"Heiwajima," the vampire mockingly called. Shizuo's name may have been the same among humans and vampires, but Shizuo didn't think that would be a problem— it hadn't, thus far.

"What were you doing here?" he growled, his hold tightening when the man kept his lips shut.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I've heard many stories about you, you know? Didn't think any would be true." The man's eyes narrowed as a smirk worked its way on to his lips. "But seeing the pretty boy you were holding hands with proves me wrong."

Shizuo snarled, but it didn't seem to scare the other vampire. "You wouldn't touch him."

The man's eyes lit up. "Oh? So you care for him?"

"Hell no!" And it wasn't a lie. "Just can't have you spoiling my meal is all."

The man tried to shrug, but Shizuo's hold on him didn't make it easy. "I see. I didn't think you of all people would be infatuated with a human. I guess it's true that they say, the fastest way to a girl's heart is through her ribcage."

Shizuo didn't let the man finish laughing. Instead, he reached for his knife, stabbing the man so he was lying lifeless against the cold ground of the dirty alley. He scoffed at him before walking away, somewhere where he could smell Izaya's scent in the air.

When he found Izaya, he found the vampire Izaya had been chasing on the floor, his stomach pressed to the ground. An arm was pulled back, held by Izaya, who was sitting on the man's back with a threatening look. The fear in the vampire's eyes was obvious.

"What do you know about the Monster of the Night?" Izaya asked him, the tip of his knife against the vampire's trembling neck. "You better give me something or else I'll find the worst way to kill you."

Shizuo kept his attention on the way the man's mouth open, as if the thought of a painful death truly terrified him, but then his eyes found Shizuo's glare and he must've found something worse to be afraid of.

Izaya stayed where he was, but when it was obvious he wasn't going to get anything from the man, he moved the knife from the man's neck to his lower back, piercing the knife there instead. It wasn't painful like Izaya promised, but that was just how Izaya was. Killing wasn't his thing, it was Shizuo's, and the blond was surprised that Izaya really did end up killing the vampire.

Shizuo couldn't lie, seeing Izaya take down vampires did something. It wasn't that he loved Izaya, the thought of that was disgusting, but he couldn't deny that Izaya was attractive, and when he killed vampires, Shizuo wanted nothing more than to strip them both of their clothes.

But then Izaya was standing, his face blank but his eyes full of something Shizuo wasn't sure he recognized. He wasn't on the verge of giving up, that wasn't Izaya, but it didn't mean he couldn't feel hopeless.

Shizuo had to stop himself from letting out a loud sigh. There were great and terrible things about being in this relationship with Izaya; good, he could have some fun, but the bad thing was the constant comfort Izaya required, needing someone to tell him they'd figure it out soon.

So, he brought Izaya into his arms, giving him some kind of hope or whatever.

—

It was morning and he was kissing Izaya, his body over the smaller man's as if to keep him from even thinking about leaving. Shizuo may not have felt any affection towards Izaya, but he had to admit, Izaya against the black sheets that contrasted his pale skin was a nice sight.

Izaya's hands were on the buttons of his shirt, undoing them to reveal Shizuo's scarred skin.

This was one of Shizuo's favourite part: distracting Izaya. Izaya had a meeting with some guy who claimed to see the Monster of the Night feeding on a couple of humans, and from what Izaya had told him, the man seemed to have some useful information, hence why Shizuo had to keep Izaya from meeting the man. Maybe Shizuo would kill the alleged witness, leaving Izaya confused as ever. It would be worth the perplexed look Izaya would don.

A familiar alarm went off and Shizuo groaned when Izaya tried to push him over, his hands no longer trying to bring Shizuo close but farther instead. There were some days Shizuo managed to get Izaya to ignore the alarm, but today didn't seem to be one of those moments.

"Shizu-chan, off," Izaya demanded as Shizuo complied, albeit slowly. "We can tend to your beastly needs later."

Shizuo didn't bother giving a reply, buttoning his shirt up as Izaya got up and headed to the bathroom, not even giving Shizuo a chance to slip in.

Shizuo laid on the bed as he waited for Izaya to get back. He closed his eyes to distract himself, but then something hit his nose. He was suddenly more alert as he shot up, his head spinning to the bathroom door. It was the familiar scent of Izaya's blood and it was as strong always, if not more.

Shizuo clenched his fists to keep himself from breaking the door down. He wondered just how much longer he had to wait to reveal himself. Izaya already loved him enough to feel betrayed if he were to find out the truth about Shizuo. His blood would be better than anything Shizuo had ever tasted, but the longer he waited, the stronger it would get— the more Izaya would love him and the more palatable his blood would be. Shizuo could hardly wait for that moment where he would finally sink his teeth into Izaya's pale neck, but he restrained himself; the scent of his blood only proved the quality of his blood was getting richer. Shizuo would wait a little while longer, but not too long; he was getting impatient.

Izaya was out of the shower and out the door. They were walking side by side to a nearby coffee shop, and as they walked down the street, he noticed the small cut on Izaya's chin, probably from shaving; it must've been where he had been bleeding from.

He shook the thought away as they walked, choosing to travel by foot instead of drive. Izaya had always been like that; he once commented on his dislike for the way everything whizzed passed him so quickly when he drove. He liked to observe his surroundings.

They were then sitting in front of a man whose expression didn't change when he looked at Shizuo. He was human, yet there was no fear in his eyes. He didn't recognize Shizuo as the Monster of the Night nor the Monster of Ikeburuko. He wasn't afraid of Shizuo. That would be a problem.

"You say you saw him," Izaya began, swirling the tea in his cup idly, his eyes on the man. "What exactly did you see?"

"He was tall," the man answered almost immediately, and Shizuo didn't know how to make him stop. "He wore a black cloak, but I saw a bit beneath it! There was blond hair peeking out."

Izaya frowned; it was barely noticeable, but Shizuo saw the change. He could only hope Izaya would walk away.

"That can't be right. He has brown hair."

The man shrugged, waving a hand in the air. "Don't you think it's possible he's been changing the way he looks? You know, to throw people off."

Screw this man, Shizuo thought. It would be so easy to jump over the table and kill him, tell Izaya the man was a vampire. Izaya would believe him, but he would be suspicious. Shizuo usually attacked a vampire when he first saw them.

Izaya hummed at the man's response, his fingers letting go of the spoon as he gave him his full attention. "Was there anything else you saw? Perhaps you could draw out his face, maybe tell us where you saw him."

"No, that would be pointless!" the man exclaimed. "The drawing, I mean; I wouldn't be able to sketch a picture of him 'cause I didn't see him. Going to where I saw him would be futile; I saw where he was heading though, which streets he ran down."

Izaya smiled, and Shizuo pretended the man knew nothing. He didn't see anything. He would tell Izaya anything useful.

"That's great." Izaya took the map that the man was holding out, unfolding it as soon as it was in his hands. "The red line, is that the route he took?"

"Yes, I took a look at some of the traffic security cams. He tended to disappear between buildings, but I found him, in the end. Sort of lost him after this road," the man explained, pointing to a street that was nearby Izaya and his house. _So maybe the man knew a bit._

"Wow, this is actually very useful." Izaya's fingers traced the red line, probably noticing how close it was to their place of stay. He didn't say anything, choosing to smile as he reached for his wallet. "How much is it that we owe you?"

"No, no!" the man declined before his voice took a darker tone. "I don't want money, I want this guy dead. He killed my wife."

Izaya nodded solemnly, as if silently conveying that he understood the man. They slid out of the booth, thanking the man before they were back on the streets.

"I think he's out to get us," Izaya finally spoke up, moments after silence.

"Someone's always out to get you." He knew it wouldn't deter the situation, not now that Izaya had an actual lead, but he tried anyway.

"I'm serious, Shizuo." Izaya stopped walking, his front facing the blond.

"It'll be fine, Flea, you'll get him," Shizuo reassured, but it was all just lies. Like hell Izaya could ever take him down— he wouldn't let Izaya slip away, not after he'd been chasing him down for so long and waited for the right moment.

"Of course I'll get him," Izaya scoffed, his usual cockiness coming back to his tone. "It's you I'm concerned about. I don't want you killing him just yet."

"I won't."

"We both know how you are. You can't control your beastly instincts."

"Shut up," Shizuo growled, but Izaya only smiled.

"I mean it, Shizu-chan." Izaya began walking again, stopping a few metres ahead. It was the same stop the red line stopped on the map. "I won't let him catch me by surprise this time."

—

When Izaya found a lead, an idea of where the Monster of the Night might've been, he tended to disappear during the day. Shizuo wasn't too sure why, but he guessed it was because Izaya didn't want to see anyone else fall victim to the vampire. He supposed it was because Izaya cared for Shizuo.

So when he found Izaya packing a bag, maps sprawled out on the bed, ripped pages from journals with faded writing, he wasn't surprised. Izaya was, however.

"Shizu-chan!" Izaya jolted when he looked up from his packing, some confusion in his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be out? You said you'd do the groceries this time."

"Where are you going, Izaya?" he drawled out, leaning against the doorframe as he waited for an answer.

"Should've known it was too big of a task for you. Next time, I'll dumb it down—"

"Izaya," Shizuo repeated, his voice neither threatening nor playful. It was strangely neutral, and Shizuo was sure Izaya noticed.

"I'm tired, Shizu-chan," Izaya whispered, his hands hovering over his packed bag. "I'm going to kill him."

"Are you?" Shizuo walked up to Izaya, standing a mere two metres away. "How are you gonna do that?"

"I wrote down all the facts," Izaya explained, holding up a paper before he read out its text. "We now have a clear description of him. He's tall, which is already a distinctive feature. He has brown eyes, too. His natural hair is brown, but it's safe to say he's been bleaching—" Izaya paused then, looking up at Shizuo and that was when the blond saw the gears turning in his head.

He was in front of Izaya in an instant, his thin wrists on the brink of being crushed under Shizuo's grip. The knife made a loud clattering sound when it fell from Izaya's hands, but neither of them paid any attention to it. Izaya's eyes were on him, but he seemed bemused and lost and hurt. Shizuo didn't bother hiding his smirk this time.

"It's you," Izaya finally whispered. "You killed them. It's always been you."

"Who else would it be, Izaya?" he teased, because his reaction was better than anything Shizuo had ever imagined.

"Why?" Izaya asked in disbelief, as if this entire situation was nothing more than a bad dream. He'd wake up with Shizuo's arms around him and they'd go back to chasing down dead ends. Izaya was so predictable.

Shizuo held Izaya's hands in one of his, his other coming up to Izaya's face as it slid down to his neck, feeling the fast heartbeat.

"Because Orihara blood is special," he started, not caring how vague he was being. "Yours, especially. Had to make it into something even better."

"You're a monster," Izaya hissed, but it didn't seem as venomous as Shizuo had hoped it would be. Looking into Izaya's eyes, he could see something akin to fear. He wasn't scared of what Shizuo was, more like he was afraid of who he'd been.

"For somebody so smart, you really messed up." Shizuo's grip on his neck tightened, enjoying the way the pulse quickened even more. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you. I've spent too long shaping you into the perfect meal. I'm not gonna drain you out in one go."

"I don't know what you're going on about." Izaya's voice was steadier than Shizuo thought it'd be. "But I'm not scared of you. If that's what gets you going, you'll be greatly disappointed."

"It's not your fear I was after." Shizuo laughed when Izaya's face showed his slow realization. "The hurt you feel and the love you continue to have for me is all I've ever wanted."

Izaya attempted to escape his grasp, wriggling his wrists, but Shizuo only held them tighter.

"If it makes you feel any better, being with you wasn't completely boring." Shizuo thought the way Izaya's eyes lit up with hope was ridiculous. "Sleeping with you wasn't so bad."

Izaya spat on his face, but that didn't bother Shizuo. The raven didn't say anything else, his struggling becoming more desperate.

"Don't be like that," Shizuo taunted. "Like I said, I'm not going drain you out all at once. I'm gonna savour it for weeks, months, maybe even for a year, if I'm lucky. I'm gonna enjoy your blood."

"And what if I run one day?" Izaya raised a brow challengingly. "What if one day, you come home to an empty apartment. I'm not there, just cities away, plotting your death."

"You think you can kill me?" Shizuo cooed before snickering. He dropped Izaya's arm, picking up the fallen knife as he handed it to Izaya. "All you have to do is stab me once. You can even leave a cut if you want me to have a slow, painful death— if that blade touches my skin, I'm as good as gone. Maybe you don't want me to go through that, maybe you'll just drive the knife into my stomach—"

Izaya took the knife, but Shizuo wasn't afraid. Izaya's hand was trembling despite his best efforts to keep it still. He just stared at Shizuo, the knife held up as he kept a safe distance between them.

"You know what? Fine. I still love you," Izaya admitted, and Shizuo heard no resentment. A harsh tone, but no true hatred. "But that doesn't mean I won't kill you."

"Go ahead, then." Shizuo spread out his arms, waiting for Izaya. "I'm giving you an opening."

What Shizuo didn't account for were the several other knives Izaya had in his pockets. Izaya rushed towards him, the engraved knife in the air, and while Shizuo caught his wrist, the raven's other hand drove a switchblade through Shizuo's stomach. Izaya ran out of the room in his moment of distraction.

It wasn't an engraved knife, luckily; just plain. Izaya knew it wouldn't hurt Shizuo, it was nothing more than an inconvenience, but it still made the blond a bit angry. He should've known Izaya wasn't a complete lovesick fool.

He walked into the living room to see Izaya trying to open the door.

"It's not gonna open, Flea," he grumbled, making his way towards him. He had planned on exposing himself if Izaya hadn't figured it out, so he took the precautions of locking the windows and doors. "I made sure you wouldn't run."

Izaya dodged the punch Shizuo sent his way, scurrying to the kitchen. Izaya was fast, maybe that was why the raven thought he would've been able to jump through the small window, but Shizuo had the abilities of the vampire. He tackled Izaya to the floor, making sure to keep his wrists pinned away from any knives.

"I was trying to be nice," Shizuo growled, baring his fangs for Izaya to see. "But maybe I won't bother making this any less painful."

He peered down at Izaya's neck, his lips on it in a second, but he didn't bite down, hearing Izaya's breath hitch. He felt Izaya try to knee him at his groin, but it didn't hurt.

"Get off me, you brute!" Izaya dug his nails into Shizuo's wrist.

"Why would I do that? I finally caught you, Izaya," he taunted slowly. He smirked against the other's skin. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm gonna enjoy this."

There was only one thing going through his mind: maybe he wouldn't be able to savour Izaya for too long, not with the taste of his blood being so much better than anything Shizuo had ever imagined.

**Author's Note:**

> i know it makes more sense to have izaya be the vampire since his characters more manipulative...but i like evil shizuo.. so yeah


End file.
